Chapter 118

   Matt walked through the park. He’d found a long walk to be the best way to sort through his feelings. It had been four years since he’d cheated on his wife. His daughter Meghan was graduating soon, but that wasn’t what was troubling him. It was the fact that he’d caught her in a compromising situation with another girl. She’d been kissing Abigail King, a mixed color girl who was a year older than her.

   “Meghan, what are you doing?” Matthew cried surprised at seeing his daughter half-naked in bed with a girl.

    His daughter answered defiantly, “What does it look like I’m doing, Dad?” She didn’t even bother to cover herself, so he got a good look at her breasts.

   The other girl just lounged there unconcerned about her nudity. Matt fought desperately to keep from blushing. “You can’t do that here, with her?”

   “Why not? I’m eighteen, she’s nineteen. We’re both of age. I love her. I don’t care that she’s a girl or mixed. We’re getting married as soon as I graduate.”

   “You can’t do that!” He protested feebly.

   “Why not?”

    “Well, because, your mother has already made inquiries about marrying you to a nice purple boy.” He floundered. He felt like the world’s biggest hypocrite. How could he condemn his daughter for doing the exact same thing he’d done and still wanted to do?

   “I’m not interested in any boy, purple or otherwise. I like girls. I’ve always liked girls. Nothing you can do or say will change my mind. I’m not marrying some boy just to make Mother happy. I don’t want a loveless marriage like yours.”

   “Meghan,” Matt said, “we’ll talk about this later. For now could your friend get dressed and go home? I can’t tell you who to love, but I can forbid you from having sex while you live under my roof.”

   “Fine. Abby, I’ll see you later.” Meghan leaned over and enthusiastically kissed the other girl before letting her go. Matt made sure the girl left. He knew he should talk to his daughter, but he just couldn’t do it right then. He grabbed his jacket and went for a walk in the park.

   As he walked through the park, he noticed a familiar face sitting on the bench. His body tightened with desire as he watched his brother-in-law. He hadn’t seen Aaron at all since Austin’s death. There had been a huge fight between Aaron and his parents over Aaron’s adopting of Austin’s mixed color child. Two years hadn’t diminished Matt’s feelings for the man. He slowly walked over and sat down beside him.

   “Matt!” Aaron greeted him surprised.

   “Aaron. How are you doing?”

   “I’m fine. I decided to take Nadia to the park since it’s such a nice day today."

   “Nadia?”

   “Austin’s daughter,” Aaron explained.

   Matt looked at the toddlers playing on the playground. One of the little girls was obviously Nadia, but he couldn’t tell which one. He was conscious of the scent of Aaron’s aftershave. His body was so hard, so ready, Matt just wanted to strip his clothes off and screw him. It had been four years since he’d been with anybody. He just couldn’t muster any interest in his wife. He shifted uneasily on the bench. This was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

   “How are you doing?” Aaron’s question startled him from his daydream.

   “Fine.”

   “How’s Ariel?”

   “She’s fine.”

   “And the children?”

   “They’re fine, too.”

   “Really?”

   “No, Meghan’s in love with some girl. They’re planning on getting married after she graduates. Ariel doesn’t know.”

   “I know.”

   “What do you mean you know?” Matt didn’t see how Aaron knew.

   “Abigail told us. She and Ice are currently negotiating the wedding budget.”

   “I don’t understand.”

   “Abigail is Ice’s daughter. She’s the one marrying Meghan.”

   “Don’t you think it’s a little weird marrying her cousin?” Matt wanted to know. Granted in his hometown it was common enough to preserve color purity, but he had been here long enough to know that cousins didn’t usually marry cousins.

   “Abigail’s not my daughter. She’s my step-daughter. Besides they weren’t raised together. It’d be weird if she was marrying Brandon.”

   “Isn’t Brandon Ice’s son?”

   “No, he’s Onyx’s son. They aren’t related, but were raised together, so…”

   Matt nodded in understanding. “I just want Meghan to be happy. I’m not sure if she’ll be happy cut off from her family.”

   “She won’t be cut off from all her family. She’ll have me and her cousins and uncles and Abigail’s siblings. Blade thinks it would be amusing to invite the press to the wedding.”

   Matt shuddered at that thought. The daughter of the PPP’s leaders and the daughter of their primary target marrying? It would be a publicity nightmare. “You convinced him not to?”

   “Onyx did. The day should be about the girls, not their parents’ feud.”

   “I can’t public give my blessing, but will you let her know she has it?”

   Aaron nodded. Matt leaned back against the bench, watching the children play.